Giuseppe Marotta

Product reformulation in the food system to improve food safety. Evaluation of policy interventions.

The objective of this study is to understand the level of attention that the consumer awards to a balanced diet and to product ingredients, with a twofold purpose: to understand whether food product reformulation can generate a competitive advantage for companies that practice it and to evaluate the most appropriate policy interventions to promote a healthy diet. Reformulation strategy, in the absence of binding rules, could be generated by consumers. Results from qualitative research and from empirical analysis have shown that the question of health is a latent demand influenced by two main factors: a general lack of information, and the marketing strategies adopted by companies which bring about an increase in the information asymmetry between producers and consumers. In the absence of binding rules, it is therefore necessary that the government implement information campaigns (food education) aimed at increasing knowledge regarding the effects of unhealthy ingredients, in order to inform and improve consumer choice. It is only by means of widespread information campaigns that food product reformulation can become a strategic variable and allow companies to gain a competitive advantage. This may lead to virtuous results in terms of reducing the social costs related to an unhealthy diet.

Approcci integrati e governance locale nelle strategie di sviluppo rurale: un framework per la futura programmazione

Within the scope of the last two stages of rural development programming, the Campania Region has introduced significant innovations in the field of integrated intervention strategies in rural areas by implementing an Integrated Rural Project (IRP). This programme led to a new organizational model for public intervention in rural areas. This key it has given the opportunity of trying out participatory/integrated development processes in rural areas (Leader method) which have now become an integral part of routine programming (Leader Axes and Collective Action Projects 2007-2013), through the management of integrated rural development policies by local partnerships. The strategic mission of IRPs has been that of intervening, by means of a partnership approach, in the main issues which limit competitive capacity within regional rural areas. The IRPs act as models for collective and integrated action for programmed intervention on a territorial basis. Their dual aim is to endorse a system of local governance and to promote integration and coordination between rural development policy and other policies. In light of what has been stated above, this paper aims to develop an impact assessment of integrated rural policy in the Campania region with the objective of evaluating: the overall levels of efficiency reached compared to ‘traditional’ programming models; the ‘quality’ of negotiation processes and of the new relationship networks which derive from them; models and best practices, in terms of financial/implementation efficiency and programmatic effectiveness, with a view to their transfer into the 2014-2020 programming period; the effective possibility that the model represents a concrete and effective opportunity for the promotion of selfgovernance on an intra-regional scale. Each of these elements has allowed us to evaluate the effectiveness of the method on a territorial level and, consequently, the impact on the enhancement of the overall efficiency and effectiveness of locally implemented rural development strategies, on the reconfiguration of the local governance system and, more generally, on the involvement of rural communities in development processes. The methodological framework took the regional administrative databases as a starting point and carried out qualitative investigation through focus groups (constituted in each territorial reference environment of the 15 regional IRPs), made up of members of the local partnerships and beneficiaries of the Programme who were requested to express their opinion with regard to specific topics of discussion. The results of this study have allowed us to gain useful insights into the efficiency of expenditure and the effectiveness of rural development policies in terms of territorial readjustment and socio-economic impact. In the context of the present-day crisis, such results provide useful consideration for worthwhile scientific debate together with normative guidance for decision makers with a view to the next stage of rural development programming (2014-2020).

Capitale umano e capitale sociale nell’agricoltura multifunzionale: un’analisi delle esperienze di filiera corta nella Campania interna

The attention to business networks, therefore to the business relationships among companies, supply chain operators, manufacturers and consumers, aimed at commercial transactions, exchange of information, sharing of norms and associations of resources become an asset in the definition of modern strategies of competitive advantage for agribusiness companies. In this perspective, the short chain represents an interesting business model network, rooted in the specific territorial context, which, through specific organizational characteristics and diversified multi-functional activities, is enhanced by human and social resources, internal and external (at the company), and able to act on the local aggregation process and territorial value creation. Share capital and human capital become, therefore, the determining factors for the effectiveness of the short food supply chain experiences, especially in the inland areas, and for wider dissemination and sharing of the value created. Aim of this work is an analysis of the functional relationships between social capital and human capital in farms, diversified and multifunctional, which have taken paths of short chain. For this purpose, the empirical verification aimed to investigate how the quality of human capital affects the effectiveness of relational networks and how it could lead to have impacts on the performance of short chain, improving its ability to create value for the enterprise and for the territory. The results of the study made possible to understand the mechanisms and the strategic variables of this innovative mode of direct governance of transactions between producer and consumer-citizen, in specific territorial rural systems, and to indicate useful policy implications.